The present invention relates to a device for use in making bone cuts during total knee replacement surgery, and more particularly to a device of this type which is adapted to be mounted in place on the patient's leg and enables the surgeon to make all the necessary bone cuts precisely and accurately.
Patients having severe knee damage arising, for example, from arthritis require surgery involving total knee replacement. In this surgery, multiple cuts are made on both the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (leg bone) and a knee replacement prothesis is installed to reproduce the function of the natural knee. The multiple bone cuts require considerable skill on the part of the surgeon in order to insure proper knee function. In addition to taking care not to damage surrounding ligaments, nerves, muscles, and vessels, the several cuts must be made accurately relative to the weight bearing axis of the leg. Otherwise, the repaired knee will not function properly.
To assist in this surgery, various guides, jigs, and templates have been proposed. While these are relatively successful in assisting the surgeon to make accurate cuts, they are often cumbersome and difficult to work with. Also, a large number of jigs or templates is required, often a different one for each of the several cuts to be made.